The US Supreme Court rejected the final appeals by Garcia’s lawyers — in which they argued had not fired the fatal shot — and he was put to death on Tuesday night at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

Garcia, then 29, was serving a 50-year sentence for fatally stabbing a man during an argument when he became part of the escape plot in 2000. The gang of seven spent months carefully plotting the breakout from the maximum security Connally Unit in Karnes County, about 100 kilometres south of San Antonio.

After two robberies in the Houston area, they headed north as a massive police manhunt got underway by road and helicopter.

On Christmas Eve, the escapees posed as security guards, holding up a sporting goods store in Irving, northwest of Dallas, stealing $95,000, 44 guns and winter clothing. They also took jewellery and wallets from staff who were closing up for the night.

As they were leaving, they were approached by local police officer Hawkins. The inmates surrounded his police car and shot him 11 times before pulling him out of the vehicle and running over his body in their stolen SUV as they left.

The gang fled to Colorado, but after they were featured on America’s Most Wanted almost a month later, tip-offs from the public led police to the fugitives.

Five of them were found posing as Christian missionaries at a trailer park, having tried to disguise their appearance, with one dying his hair blond and another orange-red.

Locals in Woodland Park said they had heard the gang blasting Christian rock music. One woman told CNN she had been to church with one of the escapees, who said his name was Jim and he was travelling with friends. She described him as well-groomed and said he seemed like a clean-cut college student.

Garcia, Rivas, Halprin and Rodriguez were captured by a SWAT team at the trailer park. Harper, a convicted rapist, shot himself in the chest himself before the authorities could take him back into custody.

Three days later, with the reward for their capture reaching $680,000, police arrested Newbury and Murphy at a Holiday Inn in Colorado Springs. Twelve loaded firearms were found in their hotel room.

‘I AM READY TO GO’

The gang were all sent to death row.

Rodriguez, who was originally serving a life sentence for arranging his wife’s murder, was the first to be executed in 2008, after the 45-year-old ordered all his appeals dropped.

With his last breath before receiving the lethal injection, he apologised repeatedly for his crimes.

“My punishment is nothing compared to the pain and sorrow I’ve brought you,” he said. “I’m not strong enough to ask for forgiveness because I don’t know if I am worthy.

“I ask the Lord to please forgive me. I’ve done horrible things that brought sorrow and pain to these wonderful people,” he added, looking directly at his former sister-in-law and the Officer Hawkins’ widow.